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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cue — for pool
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. swing — in golf
  7. rash — a series
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cue — a hint
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cue — a signal
  14. wax — to grow
  15. swing — music
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rash — hasty
  18. file — a document
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. file — a tool
  22. kid — child
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com